Dear readers,

​I must admit, when I read the headline, I couldn’t help but laugh: right next to the Kieler Woche festival area, in Reventlou Harbour, A life raft had exploded during Kiel Week.

But my laughter stuck in my throat as I read on. “A bang in the harbour, a shower of debris on the jetties…” Fortunately for the owner, the item had been stowed on deck, as the force of the explosion was enough to send whole sections of the sailing yacht flying through the air. Several stallholders on the promenade next to the jetty later reported damage to their roofs.

The fire brigade and the water police quickly brought the situation under control, but the yacht was badly damaged and the neighbouring boats, which were pelted by the debris that had been whipped up, were also affected.

The neighbour at the mooring subsequently commented on the incident. Among other things, he described the condition of the island as ancient: “a good quarter of a century overdue for maintenance”.

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In fact, experts subsequently stated that, whilst such an explosion was an extremely rare occurrence – it was more common for a life raft not to deploy at all due to ageing – both scenarios could be ruled out by carrying out regular maintenance.

In my mind, I went through my safety equipment. An island isn’t part of it, but life jackets, fire extinguishers, signal flares and the like certainly are.

And as always when I think about this topic, I sensed that subconscious defence mechanism again this time – an inner voice saying, ‘It’s all fine as it is’. An involuntary form of self-deception, presumably intended to protect me from exorbitant expenditure – because one thing is certain: when it comes to safety, you can always do more, but you’ll have to dig deep into your pockets to do so. Spending a lot of money on equipment that, as a rule, you don’t actually need.

To a certain extent, this is understandable. What that extent is depends on the individual case. For day sailing close to home, you don’t need to have a life raft on board, but even here, under the right conditions, a lightweight regatta lifejacket is no substitute for an automatically inflating one with an anti-blackout collar.

Of course, there are legal regulations in Germany governing what must be carried on board for safety reasons. In the maritime sector, for example, these stem from the Rules for the prevention of collisions and the Maritime Traffic Regulations. For example, because certain lighting is required when it gets dark or visibility is poor. Or because, in certain circumstances, it is compulsory to be able to display and give signals.

However, there is no list, set out in the text of the law, of safety equipment such as life jackets or fire extinguishers – which, from the legislator’s point of view, must of course also be present on privately owned pleasure craft in order to exercise the due care required when navigating.

Personally, I think that’s a good thing and the right approach, because in countries where the law specifies such lists, the safety equipment on board often serves only one purpose: to fulfil a legal requirement. And that is why life jackets and the like often only meet the minimum standard and, in the worst case, merely give the false impression of safety.

I would prefer it if those in charge were required to address the issue on their own initiative and find a solution appropriate to their specific circumstances – their area of operation, crew and usual use of the boat – as regards the equipment and its specifications.

There is certainly no shortage of guidance in this country. The brochure ‘Safety on the Water’ *etwa* has been published by the Federal Ministry of Transport since 1978, now in collaboration with the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) and the Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV). The booklet is free of charge, both as a download and in print – you can order it and have it sent to you. It is highly recommended reading; as well as covering safety in all its facets (boat, equipment, preparation, behaviour, etc.), it addresses many other topics relating to the standard of care expected of seafarers.

As regards safety, in Chapter 3 the authors recommend equipment appropriate to the area of operation and the length of the voyage. For offshore operations, a specific list of recommended minimum equipment is provided. Anyone who follows this advice will be complying with the standard of nautical care as defined by the Ministry, the BSH and the WSV, which can be of great assistance not only in an emergency, but also in insurance claims or even in court.

The legislation provides guidance through clearly defined equipment requirements for recreational craft used for commercial purposes. These are subject to the Ship Safety Ordinance and the Recreational Craft Ordinance. These regulations transpose the SOLAS (International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea) into German law. In Appendix 1 to Section 5 of the Recreational Craft (Marine) Regulations contains an equipment catalogue for ‘large recreational craft’ used for commercial purposes – these are “recreational craft with a cabin and overnight accommodation, which are suitable and intended for voyages seaward of the baseline (territorial waters, coastal waters, the high seas), in particular sailing and motor yachts”. So anyone who uses this equipment catalogue as a basis will, in the event of an emergency, at least be able to avoid any criticism from the authorities.

However, the case in Kiel shows that even the best equipment not only fails to ensure safety, but can actually become a risk to life and limb if it is neglected for years on end. This should therefore be part of your routine. There’s a lot you can do yourself; often, a visual inspection or a quick functional test is enough. We, too, regularly Guidance on this has been published. And finally, the following provides information on maintenance intervals for rescue equipment: Professional Association for Sea Rescue Equipment (e.V.) on its website.

Personally, I took the news of the liferaft explosion as an opportunity to override my inner voice and go through everything on board once more before our summer sailing trip. And I was glad to have this guide to hand.

Lasse Johannsen

Deputy Editor-in-Chief of YACHT

Editor’s reading recommendations

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